Campus News

Cats Cruiser Partnership Promotes Student Safety

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 13, 2011) – Today, UK Student Government Association (SGA) launches the Cats Cruiser program, a new initiative aimed at aiding student safety while supporting existing community transportation efforts. The Cats Cruiser program is in partnership with university administration and LexTran and comes after months of research and development.

“Safety and transportation are always concerns of students,” said Kelsey Hayes, SGA vice president, “especially during high risk times on the weekends. With that in mind, SGA set out to see how our benchmark institutions address this problem and what type of solution that we could offer that would best serve students and the city of Lexington.”

The Cats Cruiser service consists of four fixed-stop bus routes, with buses that will circulate every 20-30 minutes and allow students and passengers to safely return to campus or surrounding neighborhoods. Beginning Jan. 13, students can utilize this service for free by presenting a valid UK student ID to the driver of the bus; non-students can also take advantage of this service for $1 per ride. The service will run during the academic year when classes are in session on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m.

“Many of our peer institutions offer late night transportation services,” said Max Stefka, SGA deputy chief of staff for campus issues who spearheaded SGA’s effort, “but the distinct advantage our program offers is that we have partnered with LexTran and are relying on their years of experience and proven success to help guide the program. Providing this type of service is precisely what they do; LexTran will provide all of the vehicles, maintenance, route supervisors and off duty police officers for the Cats Cruiser program. This ensures that all interaction with the program and patrons and the community at large will be carried out in a professional manner. Additionally, this agreement only further strengthens the bonds between the University of Kentucky and the city of Lexington.”

“We are really excited to partner with Student Government for the Cats Cruiser service,” Rocky Burke, general manager of LexTran, said. “It builds upon the existing relationship between LexTran and the university while also providing a service to the entire campus and surrounding communities. I applaud the UK Student Government for their vision and development of this program.”   

In developing the program, SGA and LexTran both worked with the local neighborhood associations in the areas to map out routes that would best serve students and passengers of the service and the neighbors in the area. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Town and Gown Committee also reviewed the program and offered their feedback and support.

“While all funding for this comes from Student Government and UK, SGA reached out to the neighborhoods for help and collaboration so the service could best meet the needs of all,” said Diane Lawless, LFUCG third district councilperson. “Building this kind of relationship with UK, students and the community will build a better community for the city and the university. Great suggestions were made and SGA listened. Routes were changed many times as a result of feedback. As a result, I believe we have a service that will be safer, more efficient and a win-win for everyone.”

“Student safety is this university’s top priority, and Cats Cruiser is yet another measure that will help us ensure UK students remain safe and secure,” said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. “I applaud Student Government and their partners on campus and in the community for developing a program that will be of great benefit to all of our students and the city at large.”

For more information about the Cats Cruiser and other SGA initiatives, visit www.uksga.org or follow @UKSGA or @UKCatsCruiser on Twitter. Visit www.lextran.com for more information about LexTran and find them on Twitter, @Lextran.

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Katy Bennett can be reached via e-mail at katy.bennett@uky.edu or phone at (859) 257-1754 ext. 255.